Counting the coast of cloud security: Could your business afford to lose £43m a year?

Counting the coast of cloud security: Could your business afford to lose £43m a year?

Since the emergence of remote working in the cloud, organisations are still tip toeing around the idea of bringing such technologies into the workplace with one reason being – which is a very valid one – the potential security risks. And you’d be in your right to factor in these concerns when making operational decisions.

Drawing upon actual data from UK PLCs in 2015, the latest research report from the UK government puts the annual cost of security threats to data at £43 million. This is a truly stark figure that really puts into perspective the necessity of a secure data strategy that is central to your business’ operations.

IT departments have largely operated in silo to the wider organisation, causing severe disruption when a data leak occurs. Cumbersome systems cannot respond to change quickly; tie that in with processes that are heavily regulated and your business is adding to the already alarming figure that the loss of business continuity cost global businesses $1.7 trillion in 2014. To fight against IT business costs there needs to be agility within your operational framework, allowing for movement in times of a security crisis.

However, the cloud – the solution to your problem – can be perceived as the catalyst for damage in that it secures your data in a virtual location that can be easily penetrated by malicious malware. It’s here where we need to really divulge into how an agile working place can actually drive down your loss of business continuity costs and improve your overall security.

But firstly, we need to make a point.

It doesn’t come without risk
The cloud presents opportunities as much as it consummates concern. Companies that adopt modern technology without devising a comprehensive cloud security strategy or make necessary operational changes, fail to see the risk mitigation benefits.

To prevent data leaks from having a costly and disruptive effect on your organisation, ‘ability aligned with stability’ is the answer. And with the impending EU legislation surrounding the control and use of corporate data coming with a hefty non compliance fine of 4% of global annual turnover, it’s more paramount than ever for businesses to integrate technologies that will tighten their virtual borders.

The cloud isn’t radical
In the early 1990s, telecommunication companies started offering virtualised private network connections, where users were given shared access to one physical infrastructure, rather than building upon the system to allow for more individual users. This idea of hosting and sharing information in place of itemised private servers has existed for some time and the early adopters have helped shape the concept to be what we need it to be today.
Going back to our earlier point, that the formula for combating cyber threats is agility aligned with stability, this can only be achieved if you have a data protection policy in place designed to respond to cloud, mobile and big data incidents. Worryingly, only 6% of enterprises have this.

Agile Practices lowers IT business costs
A hosted cloud solution offers many security benefits that support your ongoing IT security plans.

Multifactor authentication

Cost effective economies of scale

Security patching

Added security from third party vendors

Having a security plan that is agile can help save your company millions in IT costs, reducing the downtime and being able to maintain steady output in times of a breach. To learn more about how to prepare for cyber attacks, download our free guide Data Protection HERE and help formulate a data security policy around your daily operations.

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